


Overtold

by whittler_of_words



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Everybody Lives, Meta, Middle School, Mute Frisk, Rating May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-12
Updated: 2015-12-08
Packaged: 2018-05-01 08:45:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5199533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whittler_of_words/pseuds/whittler_of_words
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frisk is hiding something. Gossip reigns supreme in the schoolground (Oh my god. Did you hear? Those two DEFINITELY have a thing for each other.) Sans has been having weird dreams. Chara wants to put on a play. Beware the music room.</p><p>Just your average middle school experience, basically.</p><p>Right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> big thanks to my good friend [dena](), without whom this would probably never have been written. this is for u ((;;;;

Frisk sat in the patch of golden flowers, drinking in the sunlight. It tasted sweet. There was birdsong coming from somewhere, but no matter which way they twisted, they couldn’t find it. Oh well. They were too busy growing, weren’t they?

Love me? Love me not? Love me? 

Love me not?

“It’s not even a game, you know.” 

Frisk nodded politely at the haze. No matter how much they picked, the petals kept growing back.

“All you have to do is count. So if you lose...that’s your fault, isn’t it?”

No. Maybe. Yes? Frisk couldn’t answer; the petals pasted their fingers together like glue. They would stick them in their mouth if they had one. Too bad.

They looked down. There was a hole, yawning and deep. A friend! Wasn’t that nice? They stepped forward. Someone was waiting for them. Arms outstretched, reaching up, ready to catch them-- right? Had to. Had to.

Frisk fell. 

 

 

“Frisk.” A hand shook their shoulder. “Frisk, you’re on the floor again.”

They opened their eyes.

Asriel looked at them with concern, his hair all a mess from waking up. “That’s the fourth time this week. Are you sure you don’t wanna trade bunks?”

“Asriel, they’re just gonna say no again.” Chara blinked over from where they were sitting on their bed on the other side of the room. Frisk took the opportunity to sit up, shaking their head, and Chara blew a raspberry. “See? They’re fine.”

“I just don’t want them to get hurt!” Asriel looked up to their shared bunk. There were some blankets hanging over the top one where Frisk pulled them in their sleep. “It’s a long fall.”

“I’m sure they’ve fallen longer,” Chara said casually. “Right, Frisk?”

Frisk looked over to them. Chara smiled back.

 _That’s because you pushed me,_ they finally signed, and Chara rolled their eyes.

“You’re still hung up on that? That was ages ago! Besides, everything turned out fine, didn’t it?”

Frisk stuck their tongue out as they got to their feet. It was early morning; they might as well start getting ready. _Only because Undyne was there to break my fall. We almost dislocated her shoulder, remember?_

“Almost,” Chara said. “That’s the keyword here.”

“Well, I still think we should do something about the floor thing.” Asriel crossed his arms where he was still sitting on the ground. “Like, um. Piling some blankets by the bed or something. That way at least there’s less of a chance of you hitting your head really hard, right?”

Frisk threw a sweater at Asriel’s face. He spluttered, pulling it down to pout at them. “Come onnn. For your favorite brother? Pleeeaase?”

Frisk paused where they stood with their clothes hung over their arm. _You’re my only brother, doofus._

Asriel beamed. “So you’ll do it?”

“Can you really say no to that face?” Chara was the one to pout that time, gesturing over to a smiling Asriel. Frisk wavered.

 _Fine,_ they signed, making a face as Asriel fist-pumped in triumph, _but only if you don’t tell Mom._

“Cross my heart and hope to die,” Chara said, making an X over their heart with a pinky. “However many times I try.”

“Same,” Asriel added, copying the gesture, before glancing over to Chara. “I don’t think that’s how that goes, though.”

Chara shrugged. “You’d be surprised.”

 _...Thanks._ Frisk smiled at them both. _You guys go back to sleep. I’m catching a ride with Mom today._

“ _Morning person,_ ” Chara muttered, and rolled over in their bed.

_ _

There were few things Frisk every really had to themself. Not that they really minded; they weren’t a very material person, and if sharing their things or their space with their two siblings made them happy, they weren’t about to deny them either. 

It was nice, though, to have something small to claim their own.

There was something about the school during the early hours of the morning that felt...peaceful. Distant, almost. Sitting at one of the benches in the quad during the pre-class hours, when the sky was still gray and the only people around were the few early-minded faculty, was one of the things Frisk’s siblings were glad to let them have to themself. Like Chara said: morning person. As if that made them the evil twin.

It was cold out. After the heat of summer, winter was finally creeping its way in. Frisk could take refuge in their mom’s classroom if they wanted to, but they didn’t really feel like helping her grade papers, and they preferred staying outside anyway. Even if it was a little chilly. They tugged on their jacket.

“Hey, bucko. Came early today?”

Frisk looked up to see Sans leaning on a cart stacked high with cleaning supplies, a jacket on over his uniform. They’d say it was for the cold if they hadn’t seen him wearing it on days where it had registered upwards of 90 degrees out. 

Smiling, they waved. _Hi Sans. I didn’t think I’d see you here yet!_

He chuckled, abandoning his cart in the hall to sit next to Frisk. “Well, what can I say? Maybe I felt like rising before the sun, ready to face the day and turn my life around. Put actual effort into cleaning up after you kids.”

 _Is that why you’re talking to me instead of going down to the music room?_ Frisk grinned.

“You kidding? I can’t wait to stack all those chairs.” The easy smile on Sans’ face widened as he shrugged. “And anyway, what kinda person would I be if I didn’t stop to talk to my pal? After all, you’re pretty...” He paused, sighing out a breath that clouded in the cold morning air. _“Chill.”_

Frisk snickered. _I don’t know if I should take that as a compliment or not._

“Coming from me? It’s definitely a good thing.” Sans flashed Frisk a grin before both of them fell quiet. It was something Frisk liked about Sans; he didn’t feel the need to always make up for their silence with awkward small-talk. He pulled a square of cloth from his jacket pocket and padded at his forehead as he stared out over the empty school-ground. Frisk didn’t understand why he did that so often when half the time he wasn’t even sweating. Habit, maybe. People are weird when it comes to things like that.

They were interrupted from their musings when Sans spoke up. “Hey, kid.” Gaze distant, he stuck the cloth back in his pocket. “Do you ever feel like something’s... I dunno.” He paused (hesitated). Bit his lip. “...Missing?”

Frisk froze.

There was the sound of car doors slamming from the parking lot. Those would be the first few kids of the day. Frisk thought they heard Asriel’s voice among them; they couldn’t be sure. They never were.

“...Ah, forget it.” Sans sighed and stood up before Frisk could even think of how to respond. “What kind of question is that to ask a kid anyway, huh?” Sans knocked twice on the table as he walked to his cart. It wasn’t wood, but. Wasn’t it the same thing in the end? “See you around.”

Frisk watched him go. The cart squeaked laboriously as he pushed it, as if in protest of everything it’d been subjected to over the years. It was a wonder how Sans managed to approach them so quietly sometimes.

Frisk breathed.

“Frisk!” Asriel waved as he approached, his backpack slung over his shoulder and Chara at his elbow. “Is Mom in the lounge?”

They shook their head. _In her room. The door’s unlocked._

“I’m gonna see if she needs any help, okay?” Asriel continued to the hallway while Chara stopped. “Don’t be late!”

“Teacher’s pet!” Chara called, rolling their eyes as they sat next to Frisk. Distantly, the two of them could hear Asriel calling back _“Eat my extra credit!”_ as he receded.

Frisk looked down at the ground, kicking their feet to the sound of Chara rifling through their backpack. After the dream this morning, and Sans’ question...they couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

“Something wrong?” Chara asked. Frisk shook their head. “Ah, damn. And here I was hoping for an excuse to beat up that weird janitor.”

 _He’s not weird,_ Frisk signed. Chara stopped in their search to raise an eyebrow at them. _OK,_ Frisk amended, _maybe he’s a little weird. But you’re not beating him up._

“Of course not.” Chara shrugged, turning back to their task. “After all, you said it yourself. Nothing’s wrong--” They interrupted themselves with a quiet growl. “Shit. I left my notebook at home.”

_Do you want to call Dad?_

“No. It’s not that important.” They sighed. “Just something I was working on.” They zipped up their backpack, dropping it to the ground the second it was closed and slouching in their seat. Neither of them said anything for a minute, letting the conversation lull. More slamming doors. More kids. A cloud moved from where it’d been covering the sun. Frisk wondered if maybe it’d turn out to be a warm day after all.

“You know... Asriel asked me the strangest question this morning,” Chara said, breaking the silence. “Just before we left. He turned to me and said, ‘Hey, Chara? Do you know what it feels like to die?’”

Frisk stiffened in their seat.

“I wonder,” Chara mused, “why would he think to ask a question like that?” 

Frisk saw Chara turn to face them in their peripheral. They didn’t look up.

“Frisk. They’re going to find out eventually.” Chara sighed. “And as much as I’d love for that to be a threat, I think it’d be a lot more fun to just watch it happen without my help. Don’t you?”

 _Stop,_ Frisk signed.

“I’m just telling you how it is.” Chara’s voice grew cold. “We _both_ know just how much things can leak through. And after what you did?” Chara barked a laugh, short and harsh. “It’s inevitable that they’ll remember. Maybe more than they ever have. So what are you going to do when that happens, _sib_?”

Frisk shook their head. _They’re alive. They’re happy. I know you are, too._

Chara laughed again, this time in disbelief. “Me? Happy? Don’t you know, Frisk?” Chara’s grins always bared too many teeth. “Someone like me is never happy.”

Frisk met their gaze.

_Liar._

The smile on Chara’s face wavered. 

The morning bell rang. Frisk shook their head again, picking up their backpack from where they’d set it under the bench. Chara wasn’t far behind.

Both of them walked to class in silence.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chara tilted their head at him. Something about them itched. “You require incentive,” they said.
> 
> “Uh. No,” Sans said. “Pretty sure I require a nap right about now.”
> 
> “I think,” Chara continued, as if he hadn’t spoken at all, “you are familiar with my mother.”

“Ah! Small one! I knew you enjoyed my cuisine,” Papyrus declared, “which is to be expected, considering I am the one who made it! However, I have come to realize something!” He gestured excitedly with his hands, and by proxy the scoop in it. Frisk watched a bit of noodle go flying. “It has not escaped my attention that you have decided to be served in my line the past few weeks. Could it be that you have continued to do so... because of me?”

Papyrus looked at Frisk expectantly. They couldn’t help but smile; it was true that many of the students chose to avoid Papyrus’ food line, opting instead to be served by the lady the next line over; whether that had to do with the man’s sometimes overwhelming personality or the food itself was up for debate. Frisk, though, went out of their way to get their lunch from him every day. (They never really told their mother exactly why they turned down her offers to prepare their lunch, but considering how easily she let it slide, it was probable she suspected anyway.)

The look on Papyrus’ face when they nodded was extraordinary. Was he...blushing? “Oh! W-well! I am glad! Not that I ever thought you would say otherwise, of course!” Yep. He was blushing. He started, suddenly. “Oh yes, your lunch!” He snatched a tray from the stack behind the counter. When he loaded it high with food, Frisk was pretty sure they weren’t imagining him piling on more than usual. Extra spaghetti today, it seemed.

 _Have a good day,_ Frisk signed as they took the tray. They quickly found it needed both hands.

“How could I have anything else!” Papyrus was practically grinning from ear to ear. “I will see you tomorrow!”

Asriel was reading a book when Frisk got to their usual table in the cafeteria. He put it down when he saw them approaching, and then did a double take at the tray in their hands. “...Do you want some of my lunch?”

Frisk stuck their tongue out as they sat. Other than that, their only response was to stick a forkfull of noodles in their mouth. 

“I can’t watch this,” Asriel said. He took out an apple from his bag. “I don’t know how you haven’t gotten food poisoning yet.” He shook his head, going to take a bite of his apple, and almost choked when he remembered something. “Oh! Frisk! Did you hear what happened today in Dr. A’s class?”

 _No._ Frisk gave Asriel a curious look. _What happened?_

“I heard it from a friend who has a friend whose sister is one of the highschoolers.” He leaned forward in his seat. Glancing around, he lowered his voice. “Apparently, Undyne stopped by during one of her off periods.”

Frisk’s eyes widened. _To Dr. A’s class??_

“Yeah!” Asriel grinned, the conspiratorial whisper all but gone in his excitement. “And the best part? She asked for Dr. A’s number!”

Frisk had to cover their smile with a hand at that. _Really??_

“Seriously! And oh man, Frisk, I heard that like two minutes after Undyne left Dr. A got a text from _someone_ and she spent the rest of class completely distracted on her phone!”

Sounded about right. Frisk’s face was starting to hurt from smiling so hard. _This is even better than the Winter Formal dance last year._

“Right?!” Asriel turned back to his apple. When he spoke next, it was with his mouth half full. “If they don’t get together soon, I will eat my favorite sweater.” 

_Just wait until Mom hears about this. She’s been trying to set them up for years._

Asriel blinked. “She has?” 

_Haven’t you noticed how she always pairs them up as chaperones? And is always giving Undyne invites for our parties and telling her to bring a plus one?_ Frisk watched Asriel’s expression shift from confusion to understanding to glee. It was a sight to behold. _Even Chara’s tried to make them fall for each other._

Asriel nodded grimly. “I remember that. Dr. A had to go to the nurse for a nosebleed after Undyne couldn’t catch her in time.” 

At that, it was Frisk’s turn to blink, and they looked around. _Where is Chara, anyway?_

“I don’t know.” Asriel shrugged, concern blooming in his eyes. “I thought they were with you. Do you think something’s up?” 

Frisk shook their head. Their conversation from that morning echoed in their mind. _Maybe they just want to be alone. I’m sure they’ll text you if they end up ditching._

Asriel didn’t look totally convinced, but he didn’t argue. 

“...So,” he said. “Do you think they’re sending each other memes?” 

___ __ _

__Sans liked to think he was a pretty tolerant guy._ _

__He always made sure to have at least two jobs to make ends meet for him and his brother; this time it was a gig working double shifts as night security for a local hospital, and cleaning up after a bunch of kids who thought that making messes was a kind and generous way of “creating jobs”. It could be worse, he sometimes took the time to remind himself. He could be slumming it in the streets, smiling at strangers and picking pockets as he told his brother everything was gonna be okay, trying to pretend he wasn’t lying through his teeth._ _

__He could be stuck trying to scum tips out of one of those open mic night things. God, those were awful._ _

So yeah. As much as he liked to have people think he was always dozing off because he was lazy, it was a hard-earned sort of laziness. A sort of tired sense of _done_ that could only be achieved through sheer spite. He was pretty proud of it, actually. 

That said, imagine his dismay when he found the door to his latest hiding spot being cracked open _just so_ for a beam of sunlight to fall right over his eyes. 

__Perks of being a school janitor: janitorial closets. There were a few scattered around campus, but this one was especially cozy. Even if Sans sometimes had to do some major bending to fit himself around all those mops. It was dark, though, and quiet, especially during lunch, and no one had managed to find him napping in it, yet._ _

__It was kind of funny, then, that the first time he didn’t think to lock the door was the first time someone thought to open it._ _

__He squinted up. Hard to see. “You mind?”_ _

__A kid stared down at him. Brown hair, striped sweater; Sans let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding._ _

__“Oh, hey kiddo. For a second I thought you might be someone important.” He rubbed at his eye. “Mind closing that?”_ _

__To Frisk’s credit, close the door they did. To Frisk’s credit, Sans hadn’t been expecting them to close it with them on the _inside_. Well. Alright then. Sans shrugged. “You need something, or’d you just come to hang?”_ _

__“We should talk,” Frisk said, and Sans had to blink._ _

__“...Did you always have a voice box, or am I dreamin’ still?”_ _

__The kid snorted. Despite that, they didn’t look very amused. “You’re thinking of my twin,” they said. “I’m Chara.”_ _

__“Wait, wait.” Sans shook his head. “The kid has a twin?”_ _

__“Shocking, I know,” the kid -- Chara -- deadpanned. “It’s news to me, too. That stunning revelation out of the way, I need to talk to you.”_ _

__Sans found himself squinting again. “Well, uh. Hit me, I guess.”_ _

__That, of all things, seemed to get a smile out of them. “The school will be putting on a play in a few weeks. I need you to take on a part.”_ _

__“What,” Sans said, and then, “uh,” and then, “wow.” He looked down at his hands. There was still a good chance he was dreaming, wasn’t there? He looked back up. “Pretty sure you could find a better person for whatever you have in mind. Like, uh, literally anybody else. But I’m flattered. Really.”_ _

__Chara tilted their head at him. Something about them itched. “You require incentive,” they said._ _

__“Uh. No,” Sans said. “Pretty sure I require a nap right about now.”_ _

__“I think,” Chara continued, as if he hadn’t spoken at all, “you are familiar with my mother.”_ _

__What was it with this kid and throwing Sans for loops? He’d never seen them before, and even taking Frisk into account, Sans hadn’t known they’d had family here until about two minutes ago. “I’m really not. Not sure where you got that idea from, either.”_ _

__“Oh, I think you are.” Chara smiled. “After all, why else would you stop by her classroom between passing periods every day and slip knock knock jokes under her door?”_ _

__Sans choked._ _

__“She keeps them all, you know.” Chara signed a box with their hands. “In a little box in her desk. She always waits to read them until the very end of school so she can end her day on a good note. Sometimes she’ll spend hours just trying to come up with one to leave for you in return. She has no idea who it is, though. She’ll talk about how much she wants to find out, so she can--”_ _

__“Jesus, I get it!” Sans could feel himself starting to sweat. “What do you want?”_ _

__“I want you in my play.” They shrugged. “And unless you want Mrs Dreemurr finding out who you are...”_ _

__How were this kid and Frisk related, again?_ _

__“You’re one messed up little tyke,” Sans said, “you know that?”_ _

__“So I’ve been told,” Chara said dryly. It was almost unnerving, to hear a tone like that coming out of a middle schooler that was shorter than Sans. “I’m glad we could come to an agreement. I’ll be sure to get the details to you later.”_ _

__“...Heh. Yeah.” Sans shifted where he sat. “You, uh, do that.”_ _

__With one last unimpressed stare, Chara stepped back, leaving Sans alone in the small room once more._ _

__He fell back against his makeshift cot. This was not how he was hoping his day would go. At all. He barely had enough time to himself or for his brother as it was; throwing work parties or extracurricular events into the mix? Nah. But, unless he wanted his carefully constructed routine to fall apart around his ears..._ _

Looked like was gonna have to put in _effort._

__At the very least, Papyrus would be ecstatic._ _

__

__

__(Stashed in Sans’ backpack was a notebook, buried under dozens of potato chip packets. Some of the stuff he didn’t remember writing. Some of the stuff he did. Almost all of it was nonsense.)_ _

__(On one page, tucked between a series of math problems and a badly copied schedule, was a detailed drawing of a flower.)_ _

__(On the back, there was a knife.)_ _

__(Something about them itched.)_ _


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _[Flowey]: Golly, you must be so confused.  
>  [Flowey]: Someone ought to teach you how things work around here!_

Sans idly traced lines in his notebook, resting his chin in his other hand. The low light of his office and the bluegrey light cast by the monitors set up in front of him made it hard to see, but that was fine; he was half asleep, anyway. 

For all that Papyrus made sure to nag Sans endlessly about slacking off, it still stood that there were a lot of people who put far less effort into things than he did. Like the other guy who was supposed to share his shift with him, for example. They were gone, like always, bailed during their break because they knew Sans didn’t care enough to report them to management for skipping out. Whatever. Sitting in an office and watching security cameras was really a one-person job anyway. At least Sans hadn’t bothered to waste his energy on remembering their name this time. Or what they looked like. Anything about them, really.

The texture of the graphite against paper was soothing. Familiar. Sans let his eyes drift closed, the tension of a stress headache easing a little under the weight of his eyelids. He needed to get some sleep soon. Some real, good sleep, not the half-assed naps he managed to steal when he could, before he ended up crashing, or getting sick, or something. Maybe he’d skip a couple hours of the janitor job tomorrow.

Wait. Nah, not tomorrow. Not the next couple of weeks, either; if that kid was wanting to keep in touch with him, he couldn’t afford to miss them on accident and end up losing the job because of inappropriate conduct or whatever, if they ratted him out.

“Inappropriate conduct”. They were just knock knock jokes. Very consistent knock knock jokes though, to the same person, every day. Some people would probably consider that some form of harassment, and Sans could think of a few people on the schoolboard who would jump at the chance to make his life hell. Fucking _Linda._

He was pretty sure the lady didn’t think of it as harassment, though. She always left notes for him in return, didn’t she? He still had them, every joke, copied down on the first couple pages of his notebook. If he was harassing her (he wasn’t) she was harassing him right back. 

Not that anything could really come from it either way. They might as well have been in two separate worlds. He was Sans, deadbeat brother, she was _her_ , with her children and her friends, stuck on the other side of that door. He wondered if he’d ever get to meet her. Wasn’t likely. There were so many things that could go wrong. Besides, even if everything turned out alright, wouldn’t it all just go right back to the way it was, in the end? Better to just enjoy the little things while they were there. While he had them, at least. He just wished it wasn’t so cold. Made him glad for his jacket, for all the good it did against the snow, but it was warmer by the door anyway, as if there was a gentle heat pooling from the other side, or the stranger just carried so much love and kindness she couldn’t help but radiate it out in every direction, like her laugh, or

or

_Knock, knock!_

_who’s there?_

_Avenue._

_uh, avenue who?_

_Avenue knocked on this door before? Hee hee._

Sans woke with a grunt, fumbling for the suddenly shrieking phone in his pocket and swiping at the lock. The screen was _way_ too bright. The alarm meant the end of his shift, though, which meant he could head home and have some breakfast with Pap. It’d be an outright lie to say it wasn’t one of the things he looked forward to every day.

Frowning a little, Sans stretched in his chair. What’d he been thinking about again? Right- the kid. Fuck knows when they’d want to actually fill him on on what exactly he’d be doing. Maybe today if he was lucky. Maybe never if he was luckier. Heh. At least Sans was good at acting.

He paused at the notebook as he gathered up his things. All his scribbles from the night were there, but he thought he could see something showing through from the other side of the page. Shrugging, he picked it up, flipping through it as he shouldered his backpack and stepped out into the quiet hallway. What he saw on the page made him pause.

It was the _damn skeleton again._

Sans knew he wasn’t exactly a normal guy. He was depressed. He had a habit of covering all the mirrors he owned. He hoarded puns like candy and ate ketchup straight from those little fast food packets, not to mention how he could sew an entire costume for his brother no problem but couldn’t seem to find the energy to renew his driver’s license. It didn’t exactly scream “well-adjusted adult”.

The last couple weeks had been pushing it, though.

He’d barely noticed it himself, at first. The way his own fat felt weird in how it sat on his bones. How he felt too tall, sometimes, or too soft, which wasn’t exactly a pleasant sensation, and how sometimes when he passed a mirror it felt almost like he was looking at a stranger. Whatever bullshit dysphoria it was he was feeling, it crept up on him. And he would’ve, you know. Brushed it off. If it weren’t for the picture that was starting to take up more and more spaces in his notebook when he wasn’t looking.

It would be him, if he was shorter and rounder and had no skin.

Sans squinted at the messily scrawled face. It grinned back. Thoughtfully, Sans slid the pencil from where he’d tucked it behind his ear, and carefully began to outline the skull more neatly. He couldn’t say how he knew this was him, not really. It just felt right. Felt good? Sort of. Maybe. Felt _weird_ , but only distantly, in an objective sort of way.

Sans froze where he was shading in an eye socket. 

Oh god. Oh no. Oh god no.

Sans, very slowly, covered his face with a hand, breathing in and out, and whispered, “I’m a fucking skeleton furry.”

_Typical._

_ _

It had been a long day for a lot of people, Frisk thought.

Well. Under that sort of generalization, all days were long. They always were. Frisk wondered for a moment if a day ever really _ended_ before deciding the last thing they needed was to drive themselves to dissociation over a question like that. Like they said. A time and a place.

Today had been...a day, though. That was for sure.

Chara had shown up to the English class they and Frisk shared after lunch as if nothing was wrong. And there wasn’t, not really; they weren’t fighting, like that one time when they were nine and Frisk had lost Chara’s favorite pen and-- well. It didn’t really matter. But the way Chara was acting, as if they hadn’t disappeared for half an hour with absolutely no explanation, it was...worrying.

Not because they were bad at pretending everything was alright. They’d always been good at that. 

Chara had actually bothered to participate in a group project, and that was when Frisk knew they were planning something.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, Frisk wasn’t sure), Asriel didn’t share that class with them, so he wasn’t there to share in Frisk’s concern. Concern over what, Frisk wouldn’t have been able to say -- for any number of reasons -- but it still stuck with them, especially when Chara started going out of their way to be _nice._

Of course, Chara going out of their way to be nice was really them just not going out of their way to be completely terrible at every opportunity, but it amounted to the same thing in the end.

Frisk put their pencil down on the table when they realized they’d been staring at the same math problem for the past five minutes. It wasn’t even that hard. Being so distracted just made it impossible, though, and after a minute of deliberation they stood from their chair with a sigh. While powering through homework certainly came with its own rewards, sometimes it was better to save their determination for other things.

Wandering into the kitchen, they slipped their phone out of their pocket and sent a text.

_* Heard you had a good day ?_

They left the phone on the counter as they retrieved the kettle from the top of the stove and began filling it with water from the sink. It would probably go faster if they put the water on higher, but. It was late. They didn’t want to wake up Mom or Dad. The phone pinged twice as they set the kettle on the burner and clicked the fire up to medium.

_* What’s THAT supposed to mean!!  
* LOL you got me. I had the BEST FREAKING DAY!! I’m actually kind of FREAKING OUT but god don’t tell anybody what would the children think_

Frisk grinned as they pulled themself up onto the counter, swinging their legs a little.

_* Idk at least a few of them think it is pretty cute_

_* GAAAHHHHSDJFfjds_

A minute passed without anything else, but that was fine. Frisk gave Undyne some time to collect herself. For all that the woman could be overwhelming at times, even she tended to get overwhelmed pretty easily by things like that.

_* Stupid dumb rumors. My life isn’t a freaking soap opera, damn it!  
* I can’t have you little punks think it’s cute!! How am I supposed to inspire mortal terror in the hearts of a bunch of 12 year olds!??!!? My reputation will be RUINED!!!_

_* You’re the pe teacher just threaten to bench press them or something?_

_* Are you kidding? Those little freaks should consider that an honor lmao!!_

A faint whistle jolted Frisk out of the middle of their response, and they jumped off the counter in their haste to turn down the flame before the kettle could start screaming. That taken care of, they pulled a cup from the cupboard and hesitated a moment at the various boxes of teas set in their places on the counter. Well...not that they ever chose any but one, anyway. The blatantly correct choice.

Steaming cup in their hands, they turned back to their phone to find that Undyne had taken their silence as invitation to send more texts.

_* I mean seriously tho it’s not even like anything super gossip worthy is happening! We just exchanged numbers!_  
* And talked for a bit  
* And agreed to hang out  
* ...And watch anime  
* Oh my god 

Frisk pat the screen of their phone before remembering Undyne couldn’t feel it.

_* There there  
* Since I am your good friend who loves you I’ll try to get everyone to calm down on the rumors ok?_

_* GOD you’re the best, punk._

_* But you have to tell me how your anime date with your weeaboo science gf goes hahaha_

_* I take it back you are the WORST!!_  
* But you’ve got a deal!  
* Please go to bed though you’re mom will KILLL me if she finds out I kept you up this late 

Frisk reminded Undyne that they texted her first, but she reminded them that that doesn’t matter though does it, and they said true. Both of them said goodnight. Frisk would be lying if they said they didn’t feel a little better than before; they usually did, after talking to one of their friends. There was something so simple in sharing in someone else’s happiness. Even if it was only for a little while. 

Cup in hand, they very purposely bypassed their unfinished homework and walked back to their room. Chara had not-so-subtly been pushing for some private time with Asriel earlier, which was why Frisk had been doing their homework at the living room table in the first place; after everything that’d happened -- even after everything that’d happened -- they weren’t about to deny their twin that one solace. Frisk just hoped they wouldn’t mind--

“Howdy! I’m Flowey. Flowey the Flower!”

It took Frisk a second to realize that the reason the door was suddenly open and their foot was suddenly hurting was because they had kicked it open. It took another second entirely for them to take in what they were seeing.

“Uh.” Asriel stared at Frisk, a stack of papers in his hands. The shock in his eyes was fading to concern fast. “Frisk?” 

Chara was kneeling next to him. They were holding a loop of tape around his waist, as if they’d been taking his measurements before they’d been interrupted by something. They blinked, slowly. “Was that really necessary?”

The silence dragged. Frisk was breathing hard, they realized.

“Um.” Asriel stepped forward, and Chara let the loop around his waist drop as he went to stand in front of Frisk. “Frisk, are you okay? Is something wrong?”

Frisk looked between their brother and their twin. Chara’s expression was oddly neutral behind Asriel’s back. Frisk raised their hands. _What was that?_

Asriel’s brows furrowed. “What was what?”

Their signs came out far more agitated than they meant them to. _I heard you. What were you saying?_

His eyes lit up with understanding. “Oh! It’s this! Oh, um--” He paused where he’d started holding out the papers in his hands, glancing back to Chara. “It’s okay if I show them, right?”

Chara’s expression immediately switched to something more amused than completely blank. “Go ahead. They were going to find out eventually.”

Asriel handed over the papers at that, and Frisk, at the words on the page, could only stare. They didn’t understand. Or, they did, but they _really_ did not want to.

“It’s a play!” There was a note of nervousness in Asriel’s otherwise eager voice, trying to dispel the tension he didn’t understand the source of. “It’s about these monsters that are stuck underground and a human that helps them get back to the surface, or something? Chara wrote it themself, and they even said I get to have one of the main parts and everything. Isn’t that cool?”

_[Flowey]: Golly, you must be so confused.  
[Flowey]: Someone ought to teach you how things work around here!_

They didn’t even have to sign anything. They just looked up at Chara, at the smile on their face, and their sibling took their cue.

“I was thinking about this for a while,” they admitted. “I just didn’t know how to go about it. You know how it is. You get a story stuck in your head, and you don’t really know what to do with it.” They shrugged. “So I wrote a play. And when I told Mom about it, she liked it so much she suggested I perform it for the school.” The smile on their face grew. “How could I say no?”

Very easily, Frisk thought. They both knew full well that Chara never did anything they didn’t want to. 

“I still have some open roles,” Chara continued. They waved a hand dismissively. “But I already have a few people in mind. In fact, I still need someone to play the protagonist. And...” They began rolling up the measuring tape in smooth, practiced motions, eyeing Frisk thoughtfully, “I, for one, think you would be perfect for the part.”

“Oh, geeze,” Asriel said, “Frisk, you’re shaking.” Huh. They were. Look at that. Asriel took the script from them, tucking it under his arm so he could hold their hands in his. “Are you okay? You don’t look too good.”

They pulled one of their hands from his hold. _Fine,_ they signed. _Fine, fine._

Asriel looked for a moment like he was about to protest, but something caught his eye over Frisk’s shoulder. “Oh dear,” they heard from behind them, and Frisk turned to see Asgore standing in the hall. His hair was mussed as if he’d just gotten up from bed. “I heard a crash. Is everything alright?”

_Sorry,_ Frisk signed. They glanced down to the shattered remains of the cup at Asgore’s feet, the tea pooling across the floor where they’d dropped it. So much for not waking anybody up. _It was my fault. I’ll clean it up._

Asgore stopped Frisk with a hand on their shoulder as they made to step past him. “It would be no hardship for me to take care of this. Your mother told me you were awake early again this morning. You must be tired.” He smiled down at them, voice soft. “Everyone has accidents. I would rather you get some rest.”

They thought about going to clean up their mess anyway, guilty and wanting something to do, but they nodded after a moment, too off-balance to really feel the embarrassment they knew would be coloring their cheeks at any other time. Their dad pat their shoulder once, reassuringly, and shambled back towards the kitchen. To get some towels, most likely.

_Tired,_ they signed when they turned back around. _Going to bed._

“Goodnight, Frisk,” Chara called, their voice steady like always, “sweet dreams.”

They climbed the ladder. The lights flicked off. They dreamt of the sun.

**Author's Note:**

> i considered uploading this in a regulated and efficient manner but,, nah. i'm sure i'll dish this out timely enough :')))


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